About This Place
The Thomas Clarke House is a colonial farmhouse located within Princeton Battlefield State Park. Built around 1772 by Thomas Clarke, a Quaker farmer, the house stood at the epicenter of the Battle of Princeton on January 3, 1777. After the battle, the house was used as a field hospital where wounded soldiers from both armies were treated.
The house is maintained by the Princeton Battlefield Society and is open for tours during scheduled events and by appointment.
Revolutionary Significance
General Hugh Mercer was carried to the Thomas Clarke House after being bayoneted on the battlefield. He was treated by physicians in the house but died of his wounds on January 12, 1777, nine days after the battle. British wounded were also treated in the house. The Clarke family, as Quakers, did not take sides in the conflict but provided care to soldiers of both armies.
The house is one of the few surviving structures that was directly involved in the Battle of Princeton. Its position within the battlefield park allows visitors to understand the spatial relationship between the house, the fields where the fighting occurred, and the road along which Mawhood's column marched.
Location
500 Mercer Rd, Princeton, NJ 08540
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Events at This Location
1776
Witherspoon Signs the Declaration of IndependenceJohn Witherspoon, Richard Stockton, James Madison
1776
College of New Jersey Closes for the WarJohn Witherspoon, James Madison
1776
Capture of Richard StocktonRichard Stockton, Annis Boudinot Stockton
1776
Annis Stockton Buries Family Papers at MorvenAnnis Boudinot Stockton, Richard Stockton
1776
British Occupation of PrincetonCharles Mawhood, John Witherspoon, Thomas Olden
1776
British Damage Nassau Hall During OccupationJohn Witherspoon
1776
1777
1777
Night March from Trenton to PrincetonGeorge Washington, Hugh Mercer
1777
Battle of PrincetonGeorge Washington, Hugh Mercer, Charles Mawhood
1777
Mercer and Mawhood Clash at Clarke FarmHugh Mercer, Charles Mawhood
1777
Washington Rallies Troops at PrincetonGeorge Washington, Hugh Mercer
1777
Cannonade of Nassau HallGeorge Washington
1777
1777
Death of General Hugh MercerHugh Mercer, Benjamin Rush
1783
Witherspoon Rebuilds the College After the WarJohn Witherspoon
1783
Congress Flees Philadelphia MutinyElias Boudinot
1783
Continental Congress Meets at Nassau HallElias Boudinot, George Washington
1783
Congress Thanks Washington at PrincetonGeorge Washington, Elias Boudinot
1783
Treaty of Paris Announced at PrincetonElias Boudinot